His Shadow
by monkkie-jedi
Summary: William Shepard, famous soldier, thought he'd seen the last of his sister Scarlet,adept,when she took off during shore leave years ago. But when she shows up in the medbay of the ship he's now serving on,the Normandy,with signs of drugs and torture,what happens to the 'normal' mission he'd been recruited for on Eden Prime? ME1 with Shepard siblings. Scarlet: 26 Will: 30 Kaidan: 31


**A/N: In which there aren't either a male **_**or **_**female Shepard, but instead Will Shepard has a little biotic inclined sister. Like all of my other Shepard, these two are Earthborn and Will is war hero while Scarlet (Scar) is a sole survivor. A story about how the hero, Will Shepard, had a shadow that almost overshadowed **_**him**_**. **

_**One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love. **_**–Sophocles**

_She can feel the weight of his body on top of her even with the drugs blurring her senses, the heat and the slick feeling of sweat on her skin. Where the needle entered her arm she can feel an itch. It slowly changes to a pleasurable ache but she knows better. The pleasure is artificial, the haze settling over her and leaving her immobile as her biotics are rendered useless. _

_Somewhere in the background, she can hear a door opening, the almost silent 'zip', before there are footsteps. She hears words and then the person is gone with another opening of the door. Then what little light entered is gone and the man near her is running a hand up her inner thigh, his grip hard and painful. The other pulls at her hair but she's too far gone; pain has ceased to exist. _

_Her head is cloudy and filled with this haze when she hears the door open once again. This time it closes with a beep that she knows should be alarming—deep in her mind, she remembers that it's important. A lock?—and there's a relieved huff as whoever it is finds the room empty. When did that happen? _

_She hears him saying something when she feels the tension in her arms give way, allowing her to drop them at her sides. The relief is almost painful and she nearly groans when she notices that her legs are free too. There's something cool pulled across her skin before the cold is gone, replaced by the warm, used jacket. She feels arms, pulling her close to the clothed, muscular chest of someone that she somehow knows is familiar. The smell strikes a chord, tugging at a memory that she knows is stored away behind the cloud in her head. _

_His words are lost as she feels herself getting tired, finally losing to her exhaustion. _

*MASS EFFECT*

She wakes up with a severe headache, bordering migraine, and her limbs are barely useable—but enough to stand up and snatch a gun as she finds one holstered on the hip of a dark haired man.

As soon as she does it she knows that it wasn't smart. Already the world is spinning, but her target is the only thing staying still. Right in front of her, she can tell that the man is older than her twenty-six years, hair dark and eyes a chocolate brown. His skin is tan but not nearly as dark as her own. He looks worried, his hands up in what to Scarlet means surrender but she knows that nothing is this easy. The gun remains raised, targeted on his head.

"You don't need to worry about me," He coos, like she's a baby or a scared animal. "Just put the gun down and let me explain why you're here. You're on an Alliance vessel and—"

"I left Alliance years ago," She growls, tightening her aim as she prepares herself for the worst. "Why would I be on one of their damn ships?" Scarlet asks, watching as his cool never dissipates. He stands tall, his hands up and showing her that he's not going to do her any harm. It's almost pitiful how he thinks he can take her out—_although, with the state I'm in now, it might be possible,_ she realizes with a jolt.

He opens his mouth to answer when there's the quiet 'zip' of the doors, the alarmed gasp of an elderly woman as she takes in the scene before her. "Scarlet?" She asks, her voice surprised and calming. "Scarlet, put down the gun and sit down. You shouldn't be standing," The doctor advises and, slowly, Scarlet does what she asks. "Now I know you must have some questions but they're going to have to wait. I need to assess your current state and if you continue to stress your body you will collapse," Dr. Chakwas tells her, slowly pushing the younger woman down onto the bed.

"Dr. Chakwas…what am I…doing here?" She asks, her voice slowly getting quieter and quieter as she feels her body begin to shut down. She opens her mouth to speak but it's quickly becoming impossible.

And before she knows it, her world is going dark and she can hear the concerned voice of the doctor ordering for the man to go get someone to assist. Then even her hearing is gone, along with the pain and disorientation.

*MASS EFFECT*

The lights are dimmer when she wakes up this time and her arms and feet are bound to the bed she lays on. A precaution after she'd nearly shot one of their officers, she guesses. Gently she tests them, tugging at the leather with careful motions. Just as she's about to give up, though, she hears a voice now familiar in only her dreams.

"It's no use; Dr. Chakwas made sure that they were strong enough to keep someone like you in bed," The voice, deep yet slightly high pitched just as she remembers, calls from the shadows. Then he's stepping forward and it's the violet eyes that she remembers, along with the dark colored hair and slightly tanned skin from running around as a soldier. "She didn't think it was necessary, but I insisted when I was informed of the fact that our 'prisoner' was a drugged former soldier."

His voice cuts right through her, condescending and colder than she can ever remember. "Well it's always nice to see you too Will. A couple of years and it's nice to see that you haven't changed at all," Scarlet is quick to retort, once again tugging at her restraints. "And for your information, it isn't 'former' soldier. Anderson made sure of that," She retorts, her eyebrows pulled together, her lips set in a grimace.

"Scarlet…" He sighs, running a hand down his battle worn face. She notices that unlike herself, his face remains scarless, perfect when it came to blemishes. It's so unlike hers, reminding herself of the scar across her left eye and straying across some of her high cheekbone. There's even one through her right eyebrow, although that one, she idly remembers, was from an eyebrow piercing gone wrong. "When I thought of seeing you again, I didn't think it would be in the medbay of a ship I'm serving on, restrained for her own safety and that of the crew."

"I didn't ask to be put on this ship," She barely manages to keep her growl from escaping, still trying to get rid of her restraints. "I was perfectly fine before I woke up in here."

"You were in an alley, chock full of drugs and injured beyond belief. If it had been anyone but you, they'd have _died_," He says, trying to get her to flinch, to react, to do _something_. "Dr. Chakwas even tested you and they did…things to you, more times than she could tell. What the hell were you doing around people like that anyway? I thought you left the Reds when Anderson took us in," He says, disappointment laced in his deep voice.

"I never left them. You took me," She replies, feeling strange coming out of her mouth. And she can tell that it sounds strange too, from the look he's giving her. "I went back there for money, nothing else Will. Can you please…_please _just drop it?" She asks, and she feels his piercing gaze as he watches her, watching for any signs that she's lying.

Fortunately for her, he didn't catch it, not even the relieved sigh she gives once he nods. "Scarlet…I've tried looking out for you, ever since mom…sometimes it's hard to be your brother," He murmurs finally, moving closer to the door, ready to leave. "We're docking on Eden Prime for a mission. You'll be sticking it out on the ship while I go down with a couple of the crew members. Dr. Chakwas will be watching you in the meantime. If she says okay, you can get rid of the straps."

Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and walked right through the sliding door. Leaving the small, struggling Scarlet in his wake.

**A/N: Just to clear things up, Will Shepard is the cannon M!Shep and Scarlet is F!Shep, but she looks Hispanic. Her hair's a dark chestnut that shines red in the sun and her skin is pretty tanned. But her eyes are a pretty violet, which is the only thing she shares with her brother. She's also an adept, but she's been one since a child because of genetic mods (which will be explained later). **

**So, good idea or bad idea?**


End file.
